Mu Qingwan suddenly arrived, and the three of them, Li An, were somewhat surprised, especially Zhao Xian's Story, who lowered his head, feeling very embarrassed.
"Qingwan, is there something you need from us?"
Wang Dazhu broke the awkwardness by speaking up and asking.
"It's like this, at the end of next month, I will be holding a wedding ceremony... I hope you all can come."
Mu Qingwan's face was filled with a young girl's anticipation for her wedding. She took out three invitations from her storage bag and handed them to the three of them.
"Li An, I heard you were injured in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range recently, are you okay?"
She asked with some concern.
Li An received the invitation and said, "I've fully recovered, thank you, Daoist Mu, for your concern."
There was a slight complexity in Mu Qingwan's eyes. When she first joined, she had a slight affection for Li An, but six years have passed, and she and Li An are no longer in the same world. Those budding feelings have disappeared.
"Young Master Xian... can you come as well?"
She asked Zhao Xian's Story.
Zhao Xian's Story blushed and had no choice but to lower his head to take the invitation, "Alright."
She seemed to want to chat with Li An and the others, but Chen Cheng had already reminded her, "Qingwan, we still need to visit Elder Wang."
The implication was that they couldn't waste too much time with Li An and the others.
Mu Qingwan immediately took her leave.
Watching her leave, Li An pondered but eventually shook his head and said nothing.
"Brother An, don't think about it anymore, she's someone else's wife now..."
Wang Dazhu expressed some concern, "Don't be like Zhao Xian's Story, causing trouble when the time comes..."
After speaking, he immediately realized his mistake and hurriedly said, "Xian, I didn't mean it..."
Zhao Xian's Story: "..."
"Dazhu is right, she's indeed not from our world anymore. After marrying Chen Cheng, she'll have backing in the inner sect."
Zhao Xian's Story couldn't help but lament.
But Li An just smiled.
Earlier, when Mu Qingwan handed the invitation, Li An noticed a bracelet on Mu Qingwan's fair wrist.
That bracelet... looked very much like the "guardian bracelet" used by demon cultivators to nurture cauldrons.
If one really had to choose a cauldron from the outer sect disciples, Mu Qingwan is indeed the most suitable, with the highest level of spirit root...
The cultivation realm is not so clear-cut. The methods of demon cultivators are also used by righteous cultivators, sometimes even more ruthlessly. This is not an uncommon occurrence.
It's a pity that Mu Qingwan is still indulging in the joy of marriage...
Li An said nothing; he was not concerned about Mu Qingwan's fate.
...
After the gathering, Li An bought a hundred pounds of Silver Sand from Wang Dazhu, spending twenty spirit stones.
He also bought a potion from Zhao Xian's Story for five spirit stones, which was mainly offset by a large amount of miscellaneous spirit herbs he had.
...
Returning to the Talisman Hall, Li An started to train intensely.
The Life Nourishing Immortal Skill cannot be rushed. His goal was the next stage of the Iron Tree Skill — refining flesh!
Once the iron skin was refined, the techniques of early-stage Qi refining cultivators, as well as low-grade Tier One offensive talismans, were almost unable to harm Li An.
And in the flesh refining stage, once he achieved "Silver Flesh," Li An would be able to withstand attacks from mid-stage Qi refining cultivators!
Three months had passed quickly.
"Silver Sand is too scarce..."
Li An frowned.
A hundred pounds of Silver Sand had been completely exhausted. Currently, only part of the meat on his right hand barely reached the "Silver Flesh" standard!
The consumption in the flesh refining stage was much greater than in the skin refining stage.
...
During his cultivation period, the ceremony of Mu Qingwan and Chen Cheng took place as scheduled. Li An only sent a gift through someone, not attending in person.
Meanwhile, within three months, some subtle changes also occurred in the Talisman Hall.
Li An noticed that since Tan Qingxue's failure in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range, Cao Zhirou and Jiang You had recently grown quite close to Sun Lin's group.
In the competition with Sun Lin, Tan Qingxue was already behind. Now, having suffered a great defeat, it was normal for confidants to disperse.
Li An was also considering whether to ally with Sun Lin.
Aligning himself would certainly offend the inner sect's Xu Qiuhui, but if he didn't, life would not be easy in the Talisman Hall.
As he hesitated, someone abruptly knocked on the door.
Li An got up to open it, and the unexpected visitor was Feng Xi.
"Senior Brother Feng, what brings you here?" Li An asked.
Feng Xi sneered, "What, can't I come?"
He casually walked into Li An's room, "What, after mingling for so many years, you still live in such a shabby place. Do you still want to stick with Tan Qingxue?"
Li An caught the implication and couldn't help but say, "Senior Brother Feng, please guide me."
Feng Xi smiled. This kid had become more tactful. He immediately said:
"Got any spirit stones? Give me a hundred pieces first, and I'll put in a good word for you with Senior Brother Sun Lin."
"Additionally, if you succeed, I'll take half of your monthly allowance from now on."
Upon hearing this, Li An's mouth twitched slightly. People called him Li the Skinner, but even he didn't skin people this harshly.
"Senior Brother Feng, can I have some credit? I got injured recently and owe a huge debt... How about a six-month deferment?"
Li An asked nervously.
"Get lost!"
Feng Xi's expression changed instantly, and he stood up, walking out the door:
"Kid, you chose this yourself!"
After he left, Li An's frown deepened.
He didn't necessarily want to seek refuge with Sun Lin.
But not through Feng Xi!
With every hundred Spirit Stones he earned, Feng Xi might take fifty from him, and this exploitation would continue indefinitely.
If he were to rely on someone, he needed to approach Sun Lin directly himself.
"No matter, I need to reach the Qi Refining Fourth Layer first. Even if I want to negotiate with Sun Lin, being at the fourth layer will make me more valuable!"
After submitting the required number of talismans for the next month in advance, he began secluded cultivation to break through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer!
...
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
"Failed..."
Li An walked out of his residence, his expression somewhat complicated.
As expected, the disadvantage of his Spirit Root had finally become apparent.
During the early stages of Qi Refining, he had progressed relatively smoothly, but the small threshold from early-stage to mid-stage Qi Refining had proven to be extremely challenging.
His Spirit Root's sensitivity was too low.
Even though he had reached perfection in the third layer of Qi Refining, succeeding in entering the fourth layer might take many years of attempts.
"Li An, gather at the grand hall immediately!"
At this point, a disciple came to notify him.
Li An quickly jogged to the grand hall, where many other disciples were already gathered.
At the front of the hall stood an elderly man with white hair and a white beard, dressed in a black robe, none other than Hall Master Guo Xiao.
He spoke:
"One year and nine months, Sun Lin has successfully completed the tasks of the Talisman Hall!"
"From today onwards, Sun Lin will receive the Tier Two Talisman inheritance from the Talisman Hall!"
The words were met with long-lasting applause within the Talisman Hall.
Li An was a bit astonished. How had Sun Lin managed this?
By his calculations, for Sun Lin to earn ten thousand contribution points should have taken at least four or five years.
This guy must have had some other avenues.
Li An couldn't help but feel a bit regretful. Another month spent in seclusion; trying to seek Sun Lin's backing now might be too late...
"In addition, the Squad Leader Li of Qingyang Marketplace is getting old, and the sect has agreed to let him return for retirement. Qingyang Marketplace urgently needs a capable disciple to take charge."
Guo Xiao continued, his gaze falling upon a young woman in the crowd:
"Qingxue, you should go gain some experience outside—"
Tan Qingxue's expression was extremely gloomy, tears welling up in her eyes!
Failing to compete for the Tier Two Talisman inheritance meant she was out of the running for the position of the next Hall Master.
Failure often meant being assigned to external affairs at marketplaces, far removed from the core of the Talisman Hall from then on.
"Sun Lin, your junior sister Qingxue is inexperienced. Help her choose a few Talisman Hall disciples to go along."
Guo Xiao gave a few simple instructions, then turned and left.
The crowd dispersed instantly, swarming around Sun Lin, flattering and congratulating him, needless to say.
"Junior Sister Tan, Qingyang Marketplace is also an important place for the sect. The Talisman Hall has a shop there, and the profits are quite high..."
Sun Lin pretended to comfort her, a mocking look in his eyes.
"I don't need your pretentiousness!"
Tan Qingxue bit her lower lip, saying, "I'm taking Cao Zhirou and Jiang You with me."
Although she was upset with this outcome, her heart had already prepared for it, so despite the sorrow… she could only accept it.
Sun Lin shook his head, saying, "Sorry, the two of them told me they want to stay within the sect..."
"How about this, Li An can accompany you, how about that?"
Tan Qingxue's face grew even more unsightly.
During today's gathering at the hall, Cao Zhirou and Jiang You had made excuses not to come, for fear of facing her...
She couldn't help but smile miserably!
Old affections from the past ultimately could not match the pursuit of real-world interests...
She turned to look at Li An, who was standing to one side, and asked, "Are you willing to accompany me?"
Li An sighed softly, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded.
...